otherversefandomcom-20200215-history
Arms and Armour: Blunt
The preferred weapon of those with Mikin Blood running through their veins, the blunt weapon is one of the simplest, if effective, weapons forged in the world of Chiaroscuro. While most of these weapons of war lack the means to pierce the skin, one often finds that their ability to shatter bone or injure an opponent even through plate armor more than makes up for it. These are common weapons among guards and wayfarers both. Citizen Blunt Weapons The lesser members of this family of weapons, these weapons tend to be less devastating than their noble kin. Despite this, many are very widely used, even among the nobility, because of how light and easy to use they are. These are the single-handed weapons. Warhammer The warhammer is not quite so useful in craftsmanship as its lesser brother (indeed, one is more likely to damage their project than complete it with this tool) but is still the second most commonly used of all the blunt weapons. It takes its basic design from a normal hammer, but is heftier, with a spike on its opposite end. This spike gives it the nickname "the horseman's pick" for its use by mounted cavalry in grappling with foes. It is, in comparison to other weapons, relatively inexpensive to make, and a Freelander guard, or a Freelander traveling on his own, might be able to easily carry it tucked through a belt loop, easy to pull out when threatened by bandits or vagabonds while traveling Fastheld's roads. While it must give up the title of the most popular blunt instrument to the next item on the list, it is rather unlikely it will go out of use. *'In-Game Description' **A Warhammer, consisting of a solid metal hammerhead atop a twenty-inch haft. The hammerhead itself is of fiendishly simple design and is, indeed, a hammer. One end is blunt and somewhat blockish in shape, inscribed in a hexagon ready to bash through plate armor. On the opposite side is a spike for use against less heavily armored opponents, or for grappling an opponent. ---- Staff This, the lowly staff, is considered in Fastheld to be the most popular of all blunt weapons, though many hardly look upon it as a weapon in and of itself. Though named similarly to the quarterstaff, a mainstay weapon amongst those who prefer Polearms, it is, in truth, more related to a cudgel in its use, as a weapon. Even then, those who carry a staff might not be versed at all in its use. More often it is used as a walking stick, carried by wayfarers in the wilds or on Fastheld's roads. One might also find a staff, albeit a more decorated version, in the hands of a noble or person of rank, marked with heraldry on its head to display station. The staff is not commonly used by guardsmen, and though it is possible, neither is it commonly used from horseback. Those who do use it tend to be Freelanders traveling on their own, to afford themselves, and their families, greater protection against the dangers within Fastheld's walls. *'In-Game Description:' **A Staff, consisting of four feet of sturdy hardwood. It is an item of different uses. A decorative metal top allows the owner to display alignment, while a cap on the bottom prevents wear when the staff is used as a walking stick. A studded leather wrap is around the center of the staff, nearer the top, as a place to hold when using the staff as a blunt weapon. Not quite long enough to use as a polearm, the weight balances out along its length, allowing it to be swung in battle, and used as a cudgel. ---- Flanged Mace While the flanged mace's design might seem more ornamental than that of some other weapons, it is in truth a design that has proven itself to be deadly time and time again in the conflicts throughout Fastheld's history. The weapon is designed to pierce armor, rather than just injure through it, the curved flanges through which it gains its name being the reason for this. Indirectly, these flanges are also the reason that despite its legality, most citizens of the kingdom would not buy a flanged mace. The craftsmanship necessary to properly shape the weapon, and make the flanges effective, drives its price up to levels most do not wish to pay. As a consequence of its cost, most examples of these are found among members of official House Guards or the Royal Guards. Those who once served under House Mikin's banner often carry these themselves, and a higher concentration may today be found in House Valoria's. *'In-Game Description' **A Flanged Mace, consisting of a stout, leather-wrapped, hardwood shaft roughly three feet long ending in a mace's head. The Flanged Mace might seem at first too ornamental to do much damage to a foe. It is, however, a weapon designed for use against heavily armored opponents, and worthy of its place in a soldier's armory. At the tip of the mace's length is the crown; a somewhat ornamental-looking cap which holds the head of the mace to the shaft, often sporting a stylized representation of the bearer's House or guard unit's mascot. The head of the mace, below this, gives the weapon its name; about eight inches of thick, curved, very solid metal flanges, wrapped around the shaft in whatever design might please the maker or wielder, often ending in curved spikes. These flanges lend a piercing component to the blunt impact of the mace's blows, allowing the weapon to dent, crush, or pierce even heavy armor - or, failing that, shatter the bones of the body beneath said armor with the sheer force of impact. ---- Morningstar The most powerful weapon legal to own by a Freelander, the morningstar starts to blend the line slightly between blunt weapon and pointed. It is morningstar is covered with spikes, and designed to do additional piercing damage on top of the normal crushing blows caused by a weapon of its class. Granted, still most of the damage is done by the crushing aspect, but the spikes have an additional benefit - all damage dealt by the weapon is concentrated into points, making each blow all the more devastating. Generally, this won't be found in the possession of anyone without martial training or intent - it is hardly a weapon that is considered practical to keep and maintain for self defense only. Those who do carry it tend to be higher ranked within militias throughout Fastheld, and better paid to afford the service that must be put into it. *'In-Game Description:' **A Morningstar, consisting of a stout, leather-wrapped, hardwood shaft roughly three feet long, with a mace's head. The Morningstar is the most brutally effective club-style weapon that can still be used with a shield. The head of this weapon is what gives it its name; broadly spherical in design, the mace's head sports several long, sturdy metal spikes, jutting out in all directions, much like the rays of a star. The weight of these spikes lends force to the user's swing, while their points use that force to puncture armor and flesh alike - rendering even the heaviest armor far less effective when in the hands of a skilled wielder. Where the spikes fail to puncture, the sheer force of the blow and the uneven strike surface presented can often shatter bones even when armor is left intact. Noble Blunt Weapons All weapons are meant for fighting. Some are meant for war. The blunt weapons restricted to the nobility certainly fit this class. They are more damaging than their lesser counterparts, but at the same time they're heavier, and require both hands to be used. Uncommon to see in actual use even among nobles, those who do wield these weapons do so to devastating effect. Maul While undeniably one of the more powerful blunt weapons that has been conjured up by the weaponsmiths of Fastheld, the maul is also, put succinctly, one of the most simple. No more than a large hammer on the end of a long shaft, the maul straddles the line between polearm and blunt weapon. In truth, it is saved from the title of polearm only by the fact that the weight of the hammer makes it nearly impossible to twirl in the graceful style most polearms employ. On the battlefield, the maul is devastating indeed. A single swing from the hammer is capable of crumpling plate, and crushing bone. Many a soldier in Fastheld's history has had his skull crushed in by one of these weapons before ever realizing it was coming for him. Knights of Mikin Blood put the weapon to especially effective use, clearing paths through enemy lines as they lead the foot. *'In-Game Description:' **A Maul, consisting of a long shaft with an oversized hammer-style head at one end. Nearly seven feet long, crafted of hard alloys and stout hardwoods, the Maul represents the pinnacle of blunt force as an offensive tactic. The handle, stout leather-wrapped hardwood, is roughly six feet long, allowing a foot-soldier a broad reach and permitting the weapon to be effectively used in sweeping aside enemies. At one end is the head, a foot-long solid metal 'hammer' with a broad striking face, and at the other is the cap, which serves to somewhat balance the weight of the head when the maul is swung. The longer shaft allows the heavier head to be swung with even greater force, granting a much higher chance of crumpling even heavy plate armors - and certainly doing considerable crushing damage to the body underneath. ---- Warmace Though there is no one exact and common design for all warmaces, they are normally pretty simple to identify - it's the big, long stick with the massive mace head swinging right at you. Flanged or flat, decorated or plain, the warmace is the most devastating of the blunt weapons. Its hefty design makes it infeasible to use from horseback, as it is difficult to swing while riding and lacks the polearm's utility for jousting, but on foot it can clear paths through even the densest battlefields. Noble commanders of high rank tend to be the ones who use these the most - many Mikins who made their way through the Blades in ages past often chose this as their weapon, and it can now sometimes be seen within the Order of the Sheltered Flame. *'In-Game Description:' **A Warmace, consisting of a long reinforced wooden shaft, ending in an oversized mace's head. The Warmace is the ultimate combination of blunt force and elegance; totalling nearly seven feet in length, the six foot shaft allows the weapon to be swung at safely distant opponents, and with far greater force than a shorter handle would allow for. The final foot of the weapon consists of an oversized flanged mace head, the curving metal flanges artistic and deadly - allowing the force of the swing and the mass of the head to drive the flanges into (and perhaps even through) otherwise impenetrable armor. The size of the weapon allows for incredibly forceful swings, such that even if armor is flexible enough to survive the impact, the bones of the wearer underneath are likely to shatter with the force of the weapon's blows. Back to Arms and Armour of Chiaroscuro Category:Armor Category:Arms